‘Compensate infected blood victims in budget’ - plea
VICTIMS of the infected blood scandal have implored the Chancellor to recognise their suffering by setting out a compensation scheme for those affected in next week’s Budget.
Campaigners staged a demonstration in Westminster yesterday calling for urgent action on compensation payments.
The Infected Blood Inquiry, chaired by Sir Brian Langstaff, which is due to publish its final report in May, made its final recommendations on compensation for victims and their loved ones in April 2023.
The UK Government has previously been accused of dragging its feet over compensation and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was heckled when he appeared before the inquiry last year as he vowed to pay compensation “as swiftly as possible”.
Sue Sparkes, 65, from Cardiff, said her husband, Les, who was a haemophiliac and infected with HIV and hepatitis C, died in 1990.
“I was left widowed at 31 with two young children,” she said.
“[The UK Government] keep on saying they are waiting for the report, but we don’t need to wait for the report. They are trying their best not to pay.”
“It’s the worst tragedy in the history of the NHS.”
A number of MPs joined the group to support their calls for compensation.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer met with victims inside Westminster Hall.
Thousands of patients were infected with HIV and hepatitis C through contaminated blood products in the 1970s and 1980s.
Richard Angell, chief executive of Terrence Higgins Trust, said: “The victims of this scandal have been waiting for justice for decades and shouldn’t be made to wait any longer, with 82 having died since the inquiry published its full and final recommendations on compensation in April 2023.”
Rachel Halford, chief executive of the Hepatitis C Trust, added: “The Government’s refusal to act is actively harming these people, people whose lives have already been devastated by infected blood. They deserve better than this.”
A UK Government spokesperson said: “This was an appalling tragedy, and our thoughts remain with all those impacted.
“We are clear that justice needs to be delivered for the victims and have already accepted the moral case for compensation.
“This covers a set of extremely complex issues, and it is right we fully consider the needs of the community and the far-reaching impact that this scandal has had on their lives. The Government intends to respond in full to Sir Brian’s recommendations for wider compensation following the publication of the inquiry’s final report.”